2/25/2014

Oscar-winning Flying-Cam system takes to the skies with QNX technology

Flying-Cam has been at
the forefront of unmanned
aerial filming since 1988.

Ever wonder how film crews manage to achieve death-defying camera angles that take your breath away? Well, wonder no more, because I am about to show you one of the most advanced tools of the trade. It's called SARAH, it runs on the QNX OS, and it recently won a Scientific and Technical Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its contribution to movie making.

The SARAH unmanned aerial system is the brainchild of Flying-Cam, a company founded in 1988 by Emmanuel Prévinaire, who, in 1979, developed the first unmanned close-range aerial camera for motion pictures. SARAH represents the latest generation of Flying-Cam technology and has been in service since 2012 — yet its credits already include Skyfall, Oblivion, Prisoners, Smurfs II, and Mr. Go.

The Flying-Cam SARAH unmanned aerial system in action, filming a scene for Mr. Go.

So why did the folks at Flying-Cam choose the QNX OS? Several factors contributed to the decision, including flexible architecture, predictable response times, and advanced profiling tools. To quote Tony Postiau, head of aerial robotics engineering at Flying-Cam, "we have been thoroughly impressed with the QNX OS. It works extremely well on our hardware and uses system resources efficiently, leaving most of the hardware processing power available to our application — a crucial attribute that we looked for.”

And for a look at SARAH in action, here's a promotional video that demonstrates how it helps film crews capture angles that would be impossible for full-size helicopters, cable systems, or other traditional camera support devices: